Reduced care ability

Shanghai has the country's highest proportion of elderly, accounting for 33.2 percent of the city's total, with 4.83 million residents age 60 or older, according to the latest official data. The number is forecast to reach 5.3 million by next year.

"People will get to know that there are retirement communities of varying size specializing in caring for different groups, such as the independent elderly or those who, for example, have Alzheimer's disease or mobility problems, and their interest will be aroused," Chen said.

Teng said other factors contributing to the increased need for such communities are the reduced ability to care for seniors owing to fewer children in a family compared with previous generations and the pursuit of quality living environments.

Apart from first-tier cities, these communities are also available in the Yangtze River Delta region, where people are more open to spending their retirement years away from home and have the finances that are required.

More than 2,000 apartments have been sold at an upscale community in Tieshan Temple Forest Park, Jiangsu province, since it was launched two years ago. More than 600 seniors have moved in. The community is a one-hour car journey from Nanjing, the provincial capital.

Hua Yan, assistant to the general manager at Nanjing Jinling Group Holdings, the main investor in the project, said the group is talking with partners and government departments in Lishui city, Zhejiang province, and Zhenjiang city, Jiangsu, to try to replicate this community model in those areas.